Hills not ready for fire danger

A report on bushfire risk by a South Australian Parliamentary committee has warned of poor safety standards for many homes in areas devastated by the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983.

The Country Fire Service took the Natural Resources Committee around the Mitcham foothills and Upper Sturt.

Labor MP Gerry Kandelaars is on the committee and saw cars parked illegally in narrow streets, overgrown gardens and roof gutters full of leaves.

He told State Parliament roads around the Mitcham hills and Upper Sturt would not cope with any evacuation due to a bushfire.

"The lack of preparedness of residents in the hills is exacerbated by the confusion about what to do when a fire siren is sounded and a road network that would go into gridlock almost at the drop of a hat," he warned.

Fewer volunteers

The Country Fire Service Volunteers Association says there are dwindling numbers of volunteers as the fire danger season nears.

The Association is urging the SA Government to help reverse the trend with either a campaign to recruit more people or by re-instating regional volunteer support officers who were removed a year ago.

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